A prince uncovers a deadly secret, flees by sea, and loses nearly everything to storms and shipwreck before the people he loves are returned to him. It is one of Shakespeare’s strangest, least-staged plays — and this fall it lands in a 99-seat theater on North Mentor Avenue.
Boston Court Pasadena will present the West Coast premiere of Pericles from August 20 to September 27, 2026, in a modern verse translation by Ellen McLaughlin, directed by Margaret Shigeko Starbuck, the company’s associate artistic director. The company presents the production in partnership with Play On Shakespeare.
Written late in Shakespeare’s career, around 1607 and 1608, Pericles follows its title prince through tournaments, shipwrecks and long separation as he searches across the Mediterranean for home and family. Boston Court describes the staging as a re-conceptualization that leans on movement and music to carry that sprawling tale of adventure and reunion. The company calls McLaughlin’s translation “gorgeous” and frames the play as a story about the resilience of the human spirit — characterizations drawn from the theater’s own promotional materials.
The production carries a full announced cast. Randolph Thompson plays the title role. Miguel Pérez plays Gower, the play’s narrator; Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson plays Pericles’ daughter, Marina; and Nicole Javier plays his wife, Thaisa. The ensemble also includes Julanne Chidi Hill, Desirée Mee Jung, Adam J. Smith, Alexander Matos, Jamie Gallo and Rio Rasch, several of them in multiple roles.
Behind the production is a design team that includes John Ballinger as sound designer, composer and music director, and Estela Garcia as movement director. Boston Court, founded in 2003, produces the play under Artistic Director Jessica Kubzansky. The company lists support from the Hitz Foundation, the David Lee Foundation and Play On Shakespeare.
Performances run Thursday through Monday evenings, with Sunday matinees. The run includes a series of post-show “Illuminations” talkbacks and an ASL-interpreted performance on Friday, September 4. Student matinee tickets are offered at $9, with select student matinees scheduled September 16 through 25. The theater also lists $10 Community Access Tickets for most performances, and members save 40 percent on tickets.
The theater, at 70 North Mentor Avenue, offers free parking in a lot behind the building; the lot opens two hours before each performance, and Boston Court operates as a cashless facility with reserved seating. The box office can be reached at (626) 683-6801, and more information is available at bostoncourtpasadena.org.
Four centuries after Shakespeare set a prince adrift, the voyage docks for six weeks in Pasadena.
